Addressing delegates at the Council of Mortgage Lenders' annual conference today he said: "MMR is intended to hardwire commonsense back into the mortgage market."
Wheatley acknowledged that many lenders have already adopted a more common sense approach to lending and reinforced the necessity to get the balance right between access and sustainability.
And he reminded the audience that customer needs to be at the heart of every decision.
Talking about the creation of the new rules he said: "It has taken a while, probably longer than we wanted, but that is because we had to get it right."
The drawn-out process was attributed to the need to consult with all parties who had a vested interest in getting the rules correct for the market.
And Wheatley stressed that this partnership between the Council of Mortgage Lenders, the new Financial Conduct Authority and the lenders needed to continue to develop a sustainable market that delivers the social benefits the country needs.
